Second Steps
by purehalo
Summary: Sequel to 'First Steps' , Don has revenge on his mind and is determined to make Megan suffer. However theres a few casualties on the way.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own them or make any money from them.

Thanks for all your amazing reviews for my previous stories , hope you like this one as well .

Thanks so much

This is a sequel to 'First Steps'. If you want to follow what's going on please read that story first.

Thanks!

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Chapter One

Megan walked into the office prepared for any eventuality .She knew that in time, the worst would happen, he'd find the weakness.

Walking up to her desk Megan kept her eyes alert. Sweeping the office for any signs of attack, any direction the advance could come from. She carefully walked forward and around her desk. All the while searching her periphery for a trap.

No where was safe.

No where was off limits.

This was a no holds barred attack on her. She had to be prepared.

As she rounded her desk she spied a large, black, hairy spider sitting on her seat.

A large, black, hairy, plastic spider no less. She smiled despite herself. He was getting desperate. Surely running out of ideas. In the background she heard a whistling approach from the kitchen. He walked past as if unaware of the plastic toy Megan was currently eyeing suspiciously.

This was war. Had been for four days now.

Day One

Don had finally made it back to work. His father had kept him hostage at the house a little longer than he had anticipated. The Doctors appointment three days ago hadn't quite gone to plan. Don's temperature had been a little high that morning. As much as he had attempted to hide it his flushed face had betrayed him.

"You ok Don?" If only Charlie could ask that in private.

"Yeah Buddy, I'm fine"

"You look like you have a fever"

Alan looked up from his newspaper and eyed Don suspiciously.

"I'm fine Charlie; just had the shower too hot is all"

The three men continued their breakfast. Don's check up was at 11am so there was no need to rush, which worked well for him seeing as he still had one heck of a limp from the dog bite and in all honesty the shower had exhausted him. As much as he tried to deny it he knew he was sporting quite a fever. If only he could make it back to his apartment he could finish getting better and be out from under his father and brother's watchful eyes. If only he could manage to drive. Maybe one more day and he'd be able to use his foot enough to get the hell out of here.

"What time is Amita picking you up Charlie?"

"In about ten minutes Dad, I should be back by 3 though so maybe I can cook dinner?"

"Haven't I suffered enough?"

Charlie glared across the table at Don. He was enjoying having his older brother stay; as much as he pretended he was annoyed by Don's sarcasm they both knew how much fun it was to antagonise each other.

Don unconsciously wiped his brow with the back of his hand; Alan immediately took this as a cry for help and placed his own palm on Don's forehead.

"How long Don?"

Don sighed but knew there was no way out of this. Busted.

"Woke up with it. It's ok though, I'm sure it's just because I'm tired"

"You slept enough last night so it can't be" It was now Don's turn to glare across the table at Charlie.

Alan moved to the kitchen and came back with a thermometer.

"Open" not a request by any means.

Don eyed his father but knew resistance was futile. It wasn't like he could run very fast to avoid the inevitable.

Alan placed the thermometer under Don's tongue and again pressed his palm to Don's forehead .He was definitely too warm.

Charlie was smiling across the table at Don, it was so much fun to see his brother trapped like this, unarmed and defenceless.

"Mmm?" asked Don around the thermometer.

"Nothing, just glad your gun is locked up is all" Before Don could retaliate there was a knock at the door. Charlie sprang up and rushed to let Amita in. Don raised his eyebrows to his father.

"She has him hooked don't you think?"

"Mmm"

"Hey guys, how are you feeling Don?" Amita smiled apologetically when she saw Don was unable to answer. He nodded his head to her instead.

Charlie gathered his books and picked up his bag.

"I'll call you later to see how you got on, good luck with Dad"

Charlie left before Alan could question him. Don tried to look innocent but failed. Alan knew his boys had been talking about him last night. Every time he'd entered the living room they had switched their conversation to baseball. Neither knew what the other was talking about and both were discussing different games. Alan had witnessed enough of these conversations throughout his boy's lives to know when a parent was being discussed. He'd assumed they'd been talking about his slight aversion to spiders. He hoped there wasn't a plan being put into action. He'd end them if there was.

"Mmm?"

"Oh yes, lets see how high your non-temperature is "Alan frowned at the thermometer in his hands. The mercury was resting comfortably at 99.8; this wasn't resting comfortably with Alan. He went back into the kitchen and swapped the thermometer for a damp towel. Before Don could protest his face was being wiped down, he would have fought his father harder if the cooling sensation hadn't been such a relief.

"I'll get you some Tylenol Don. Then I want you to rest on the couch"

"Dad I'm fine"

"Well, go and be fine over on the couch will you?" Alan's look toward his son wasn't one Don wanted to challenge. He carefully stood and made his way to the couch. He felt a little light headed but told himself that was the fever, not the fear of having to have intravenous antibiotics pumped into him through an obscenely large needle protruding from his vein should his fever prove to be a little more serious than he first thought. He'd gone to sleep last night feeling pretty pleased with himself. He wasn't the only one with hangs ups. Charlie, although not about to rush out and buy one, had managed to take a step toward overcoming his fear of dogs, Alan's fear of spiders had been found out, and his mother, well she had a fear of birds. Yet she'd tried to overcome it. Even though they terrified her, she'd tried to face the fear. Don had felt such a surge of pride when he'd realised how alike Charlie and his mother were in that sense. It brought her a little closer.

When Don came out of the Doctor's office he nearly ran straight into his father.

"Please don't tell me you were listening in?"

"What did the Doctor say?"

Don smiled at his father and handed him a prescription sheet. Alan looked at the print out in his hands.

"More antibiotics?"

"He says my hand is healing fine, but I have a slight infection in my ankle. Another course should clear that up and you'll be happy to know that the Tylenol is keeping my temperature down. So I'd say I'm good to go back to my apartment now"

"You don't say?"

The two had reached Alan's car, Don leaned across the top and took his prescription sheet back. Alan raised his eyebrows at his son and got into the car.

As Don was getting himself settled in the passengers seat Alan turned and regarded him with a devious smile.

"Where's your car Don?"

"David left it at the office. Can we stop off to get it?"

"No"

Alan put his car in drive and headed off in the direction of the pharmacy store.

"What do you mean 'no'? "Laughed Don, he knew where this was going but boy was he going to fight it all the way.

"No, I mean No by saying no; implying my dear boy that I will not be taking you to get your car and you will be staying with Charlie and me for at least another couple of days."

"Dad I'm fine honestly" at Alan's incredulous look Don added "I have a little fever that's all, my ankle is fine, just a little sore and my hand hardly hurts at all now"

"Really? Then why were you swearing this morning when you knocked it against the door?"

"You'd swear if you knocked your hand, wounded or not"

"Where are your car keys Donnie?"

Now he knew he was in trouble. There had been a tone to his father's question that Don had heard many times in the bull pen. Suspects who knew they had the upper hand at that moment in time. Predator toying with prey.

"Please don't tell me.."

"David dropped the keys off while you were sleeping yesterday, he called and offered to bring the car but I told him that wasn't necessary, just the keys would do"

Don stared at his father. This could be a bluff, although Alan Eppes wasn't known for bluffing without a back up.

"Dad.."

"I'll make a deal with you Donnie, stay for at least another night. If your temperature drops enough, and_ stays dropped_ then I'll take you to get your car"

Don stared at his father. Surely he hadn't just lost there. Had he?

He'd ended up staying another two nights. His fever had topped 100 and he had to physically fight off his father and his damp cloth's much to Charlie's amusement.

Finally Alan had allowed Don to pick his car up and go home. He made sure Don didn't go into the office by escorting him to his SUV and then following him out of the car park and all the way to his apartment.

Once inside he tut tutted at the mess. He guessed Don inherited his need to save the papers and magazines on the coffee table from him. He began to tidy up while Don went to inventory his food .After a quick run to the store Alan was satisfied his son would survive.

"You're going into the office tomorrow I take it?"

"No field work Dad, not until next week. I'm there to catch up on paperwork and that's it"

"Mmmmm"

"Can you really imagine me attempting to run after a suspect with this limp?"

"I can imagine you trying"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Don moved some more files from his desk, he was beginning to clear through the backlog and discover table underneath all the paper. He watched as Megan got up from her desk and walked toward him.

"Hey Don, do you want a coffee?"

"Yeah, sure" Don made a move to get up and Megan made a move to help.

"I'm fine honestly"

"Sure you are, that's why the limp re-appears when you think no one's watching"

Don smiled; he had to hand it to Agent Reeves. She didn't miss a thing.

They sat in the kitchen enjoying a friendly coffee. Conversation flowed from work to Alan and Charlie, and then quickly back to work when Don mentioned Larry.

"You're not gonna tell me are you?"

"It's one of those mysteries in life Don, something you're just never going to know about"

"Funny, Larry said a similar thing." Don sipped his coffee "Only he used a far greater number of words"

Megan smiled over her cup at him.

"So, needles huh?"

Don stared into his cup. He knew David and Colby had told Megan. He trusted that it was her alone they had told.

"Uh huh"

"Mmm, good thing you fell on your ass to cushion the fall"

"Yeah ok Reeves" Don laughed "We'll see how tough you are when you face a fear.

"So you admit it's a fear"

"I didn't say I'd faced a fear, I said when YOU face a fear, not that needles are a fear anyway. They're more of a .."

"Thing?" Megan offered. She immediately regretted her words when she saw the smile spreading across Don's face.

"And how would _you_ know about that?"

"So how's your foot?"

"It's fine" Don couldn't stop smiling now and he knew it was getting to her. She'd give in any second. As predicted Megan finally allowed her smile freedom and even gave into a little laugh.

"So come on Megan, what is it that you're afraid of? What's your thing?"

"Well, they never bothered me before"

"Uh huh"

"But now I just can't stand them, have to cross the street to avoid them"

"Really?"

"Really, it's actually beginning to affect my work"

Don looked at the seriousness in Megan's eyes. Maybe his teasing was a bad idea. She was really opening up to him and his concern for her rose.

"What is it Megan?"

"Poodles"

"Oh very funny! Laugh it up Megan, revenge will be all the more sweeter "

Megan stood and threw away her coffee cup, still laughing she patted Don on the shoulder and walked back to her desk.

Oh they were all a bunch of comedians. That morning Don had arrived back at the office to be greeted by wall to wall, table, chair and floor covered with poodle pictures. Someone had even changed his wallpaper on the computer to a smiling poodle. He never knew poodles could smile. He'd been torn between reprimanding them and just giving in and joining in. If he reprimanded them he knew he'd feel foolish by the end of the day. So instead he'd stood looking at the mess at his desk and had burst out laughing.

Don worked through some more paperwork. It always amazed him how quickly it would build up if neglected. He was unaware of Charlie making his way toward him.

"Hey "

"Oh hey Charlie. What are you doing here?"

Charlie frowned at his brother, "Lunch? Remember?" Looking at Don's desk Charlie could see why he'd forgotten.

"Sorry brother, I'll be ready in a sec, just want to clear this file"

"Looks like you have more than just that one to clear"

Charlie pulled up a chair and sat close to Don.

"I brought the list"

"Is it as we thought?"

"Yep"

"What did the algorithm you ran it through say?"

"It listed the things we'd already discussed. This is it Don. These are the only options we can use; they're the ones with the greatest probability."

"Thanks Charlie, that's great. Hope it didn't distract you too much"

"On the contrary, it was actually fun"

"Fun?"

"Yes, fun, I can have fun you know"

Don finished with his file and slung his jacket over his shoulder.

"I'm going to lunch Megan, do you want anything?"

"No thanks Don, I'm meeting a friend"

"Uh huh?"

"Uh huh, hey Charlie how you doing?"

"Hey Megan, I'm good thanks. Larry was meeting a friend for lunch as well you know"

Megan regarded the brothers, they were way too curious for their own good.

"You know what they say about curiosity and the cat"

"No cats here Megan"

"No, but there could be Poodles Don"

Don raised his eyebrows to Megan and turned to Charlie,

"We should get going, lots to discuss"

"Ok" laughed Charlie, "See you later Megan"

George had run his store for almost thirty years. He loved it. He loved its plastic smell, loved the children that came in on a Saturday morning before the movies. They'd keep him entertained with their antics and games. They'd tell him about their week at school and all the new TV shows and movies they were watching and wanted to see. George didn't need the internet, newspapers or magazines. He had the children to keep him up to date with the world. Occasionally an irate parent would open the door and call into the store, searching for their wayward child. The parents knew George and knew their children were safe with him. Many of them had even been children here themselves. Playing the day away with all the toys. When they had the money they'd even buy a few. George's Toy Store was known throughout the family circles in LA as the only store where the kids could play and not have to buy. Parents could drop their kids off and go and wander around the other stores on the street, knowing that on their return their child would be safe and happy. Thanks to his reputation for keeping old toys in good condition George received many requests from the movie studios for antiques. This way George was able to allow the children to play and not have to worry so much about profits. He lived a comfortable simple life. He'd seen it all from inside these walls. Been entertained with so many stories from so many children that nothing they did, said, surprised him.

However the two grown men standing before him concerned him. One was taller than the other and wore sunglasses and a dark suit. He had a bandage on his right hand and appeared to have a slight limp. The other had unruly hair and soft, intelligent eyes which held an innocence rarely seen in an adult. George noticed all this in case he'd need to relay the information to the police. He was certain they were here to rob him. They didn't look like Studio Exec's. When the taller of the two men spoke George's concern quickly turned to bemusement, he was asking for plastic snakes, spiders and mice. Oh, and if he had it, bugs.

That first day back Don decided to start small. Start with the snake. Charlie had positioned it just underneath Megan's desk so that the tail was poking out. Don had to hand it to his brother. He'd picked out a good snake. From above it really did look real. Don smiled to himself. It was such a buzz to be working with his brother on something fun and mischievous. No criminals involved, no people in need of saving. Just one Agent. In need of a good scaring, uniting two brothers.

Megan was still at lunch so Charlie and Don tried to maintain an air of innocence for when she came back. They sat around Don's desk eating their sandwiches and talking about their father. They'd been having an ongoing conversation for a few days now. Neither had realised that their father had any fears. He was always so strong and knew the answers to any of their problems (the non math kind in Charlie's case) It had surprised them both to see Alan cowering in the corner of the kitchen defending himself with a broom. Their mother's fear of birds had also been a topic of conversation. They had been reminiscing a few nights ago, between trying to come up with a list of things with which to scare Megan, about different instances they could remember where their mother had avoided birds. One time she had stayed in the car when they'd gone for a drive to the beech. It had been a particularly windy day and the seagulls had been having a feast on the beech with all the food left behind by someone's party the night before. Their mother had claimed she didn't want her hair being messed up by the wind. Looking back now the brothers realised the different times their mothers fear had shown itself. Even when Alan and Margaret had returned from the store with Mickey, it had never occurred to them that she had stayed in the kitchen, under the ruse of cooking for her family, instead of welcoming the new pet. Every time their conversation had floated back to Megan and the need to petrify her, Alan had walked into the living room looking for his newspaper or a book. He definitely wouldn't have approved of the plan being put into place so the brothers had attempted to shift their conversation to baseball, and failed miserably.

"Do you think Dad has any other fears?"

"Doubt it Charlie, and even if he did I don't think he'll be telling us in a hurry"

"Do you really think Megan is out to lunch with Larry?"

"Yeah" Don laughed "I really do!"

"How weird is that going to be? I mean Larry and Megan?"

"Honestly Charlie, stranger things have happened. What about you and Amita though?"

Charlie looked at his brother. He'd never seen Don so relaxed. This was the kind of relationship Charlie had hoped they'd always have. The bitterness between them was slowly dissolving. Or if not dissolving, it was at least being pushed to the side. Years of neglect between the two, years of not being in contact, only learning about the other through their parents. They each had their separate bubble to live in. Don may never admit it but he had his own bubble to. Now they were starting to share that bubble. Each slowly allowing the other a further glimpse into their lives.

"I don't know, I'm working on it"

"Well work a little quicker will you, you need to take the pressure off me"

"What do you mean?"

"If Dad has you and Amita to concentrate on then he'll leave me alone for a while"

"I doubt that Don" laughed Charlie, "He's working on making you and your future attachment his main priority"

Don threw a piece of his sandwich at Charlie who didn't manage to duck the missile.

"Hey!"

"Uh huh, better watch it buddy, next time it won't just be a sandwich"

"Well next time I'll be prepared for your obvious aversion to talking about the fact Dad calls you the 'dateless wonder'"

Don was about to throw another piece of sandwich at Charlie when they were interrupted by a blood curdling, skin crawling, heart stopping scream emanating from Megan's desk.

"Here we go" Don turned around. Ready to flash his most victorious smile Megan's way when he saw Colby, practically hanging around David's neck, pointing toward the floor.

"Seriously man I saw it, I saw it, it's there, seriously David there's a snake under that table"

"Colby, will you be serious, we're in an office building. It would have had to take the elevator."

It was now Colby's turn to glare at Don, Don and Charlie were both leaning on each other attempting to stifle the laughter that had erupted. David realised what was up when he took a better look at the 'snake' under the desk.

"Oh! Colby, man I think you need to have another look at that snake"

Charlie walked forward, bent and picked up the snake. Dangling it in Colby's face he attempted to speak through his hysterics.

"Its….it's a rub.." Charlie wiped tears from his eyes. "Oh man I thought you were going to pass out"

Don, holding onto his side with his hands, managed to squeeze out "I thought you were supposed to be tough"

David burst out laughing. Colby just stood. Looking dangerously at each of them.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Day 2

Colby had told Megan of the snake incident. As much as she would have loved to have kept a straight face for him, she failed. The thought that Colby Granger, tough ex-military, Agent Colby Granger, with three years interrogation training, had screamed was definitely a source of much amusement around the office.

"Why snakes?"

"You try being in Afghanistan, in a tent infested by snakes" Colby said defensively.

Megan regarded him with her warmest smile.

"He's trying to find my weakness"

"You don't say, and what am I? An unfortunate casualty?"

"Colby, you have to admit you had it coming. You should have known to not have laughed at him in the Hospital "

"Yeah well, guess he's even with me now. Man it was funny when he took that dive though"

"Careful, he's in a vengeful mood so you don't want him dumping real snakes in your car or anything"

"He wouldn't would he?"

Megan smiled again at Colby.

"I'm going to need your help with something"

That afternoon Megan grabbed her bag and left the office. As they had no major cases pending every agent was taking a breather and leaving the office at a decent time. Even Don had been leaving before six which was unheard of. She walked to her car and began to rummage through her bag for her keys. Her hand brushed something furry. On reaction she dropped her bag and stepped back. Looking around her she saw that no one was watching and so carefully walked to her bag and gave it a testing kick. She stepped back again and watched as the bag moved. She blinked to clear her eyes. Surely she hadn't just seen that. Surely they wouldn't use something living?

She carefully stooped and opened her bag further. Inside was a small, brown mouse. Nibbling on her purse.

"Oh no you don't, that was a present from my mother" Megan carefully placed her hand around the mouse's body and pulled it from its dinner. It looked at her for a few seconds, trying to decide if the thing that held it was going to eat it. It had moved so many times today that the mouse was beginning to feel a little disorientated. All it really wanted was to eat, have a stretch and curl up to sleep. Not much to ask really.

Megan held the mouse up to her face.

"Hello there little fella, guess you're coming home with me. Hope you don't mind a slight detour to pick up a cage and some food. If you're good I'll let you pick the colour of the cage yourself."

Megan made her way to her car, retrieved her keys and threw her bag into the back seat.

"Cages come in a lovely shade of silver, or maybe you're more of a grey mouse."

She held the mouse up above her head, then lowered it and placed a kiss on the tip of its nose. The mouse, for a second concerned it was about to be eaten, sniffed Megan's lipstick, decided she wasn't so bad and placed its front paw on her nose.

Don watched all this from the security room on the first floor. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Surely she was scared of mice. Wasn't every girl? Not ever having a sister or a mouse in the house for his mother to deal with he had no idea.

He looked at the security officer in front of him who was smiling at Don's obvious frustration.

"This means war you know"

"I'll make sure to avoid your office for a while then"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Day 3

Alan had called Don that morning and informed him that if he wanted rib eye for dinner that he'd have to arrive early as Alan had another date with the caterer.

Don, not being one to turn down rib eye, promised to be at the house by 6. In all honesty he had missed staying there. As much as his fathers over attention had begun to wear him down, he'd enjoyed hanging out with them both. Dropping by in the evenings was great but it wasn't the same as being looked after. Not that Don would want to be looked after. He was always a reluctant patient. Although sometimes he couldn't help but appreciate the attention from his father. He'd missed out for so long that the child in him still craved it. The adult however had other ideas.

It had been a quiet week in the office, almost unheard of. There were cases to work on but they weren't anything that they couldn't take some time with. Old cases with dried up leads. Even Charlie was beginning to miss having something to get his teeth into. He'd dropped by for lunch the past couple of days. Don suspected that his brother missed working with the agents. It had been a few weeks since they'd needed his help and Don could tell Charlie was feeling a little left out and unused. It was funny how quickly his brother had taken to his role in the FBI. He consulted on so many cases now that it wouldn't surprise Don if Charlie relocated his office to the FBI.

Today was the bug test.

Charlie had called to say he could get his hands on real bugs but Don had discouraged him from that line of action. The thought of having to explain an infestation to his superiors didn't sit well with Don. How the hell had Charlie managed to get his hands on real bugs? Don knew he had ants, but Charlie was talking about quite a mixture of bugs to attack Megan with. Don laughed to himself when he thought how involved in this Charlie had become. They both had become. It seemed like such a welcomed relief to be doing something ….stupid. Neither of them relaxed all that often. When they did it usually involved Alan winning money from them during a golf game.

Don had placed the plastic ants, cockroaches and beetles in Megan's jacket pockets. He doubted she was scared of bugs but it was worth a try. It was really getting to him that he couldn't scare her. He'd managed to get Colby back though. Without even trying. Don laughed again. Now that was sweet revenge.

They spent the day brainstorming and chasing up leads on an old case involving fake passports. David and Colby made a run to a witness's house to see if they remembered anything more but came back with nothing. Megan's profile, although specific, didn't help with their lack of suspects. They were about to try a different lead when Don's phone rang.

"Eppes"

"Donnie, this is a polite reminder for you to relocate that butt of yours to this house for dinner."

"I'm on my way Dad" Don hung up and grabbed his jacket.

"Sorry guys, dinner calls. We'll try that other lead tomorrow, not that I think it's going anywhere though."

"Always worth a try" said David.

"I'll walk out with you Don"

"Date Megan?"

"No, not that it's any of your business but I have theatre tickets with a friend"

"Just a friend Megan?"

"Yes David, a_ friend_ "

"Ok Ok, have a good night guys"

"See you both tomorrow" Don led Megan out of the building toward the car park. As they walked outside Megan gasped as her hands went into her pockets.

"What the….Oh you have to be kidding me"

"Nothing?" frowned Don.

"No, I used to collect bugs"

"For Christ's sake can't you just tell me what it is you're scared of?"

Megan collected the bugs from her pocket and placed them in Don's hand. She closed his fingers and held his hand in both of hers. Smiling at him she winked and said "You. Will. Never. Know. But I can tell it's bugging you"

With that Megan got into her car and waved as she drove away. Leaving Agent Eppes looking exasperated in the car park.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Day 4

Megan looked at the spider and had to smile. This was getting so ridiculous. There was no way he'd ever find her fear. Even if he did there was no way she'd ever let on as to how scared she really was.

Don had sat down at his desk. Still attempting to whistle innocently. Megan threw the spider at him which hit him square on the nose.

"Ow! What did ya do that for?"

"I didn't"

"Yes you did"

"You put the spider on my chair"

"No I didn't"

Megan looked around for something else to throw at him. It was amusing her that Don had roped Charlie in to help him. She found it even funnier when Colby had told her that he heard Charlie talking about a fear algorithm. Charlie could turn anything into math. All in all though she was impressed. They were spending so much time trying to scare her that both seemed visibly more relaxed than she'd seen them in…well they never had seemed this relaxed. One thing the brothers had in common was a sense of seriousness that was rarely lowered enough for them to simply goof off.

Boy was Don going to get a shock today. Megan felt it was her turn for some revenge.

She picked up her apple and slung that Don's way. He caught it easily and took a huge bite. Smiling at her as he began to chew. She was about to wipe that smug smile from his face.

"What did you call it?" he asked

"Call what?"

"The mouse"

Megan smiled and leaned on the glass partition above Don's desk.

"How do you know about the mouse?"

He simply smiled at her. She realised she'd never seen him smile as much as he had done the past week. That dog bite had resulted in a good thing. She almost felt guilty. Almost.

"Donnie"

"No you didn't "

"Oh yes I did"

Charlie arrived at noon; he was loving the routine of meeting his brother for lunch. Such a rare occasion for the two of them to spend easy time together. For the past week they'd fallen into this routine. Charlie missed using his math to help the Agents but he was willing to miss it for this, quality time with his brother.

The night before Alan had commented on how conspiratorial his sons seemed to be lately. Both had looked at each other and laughed. Perplexing Alan all the more. If he knew what they had both been devoting their time to: scaring Megan, he'd have quite a few things to say. Neither brother wanted to be lectured right now. Instead they were enjoying having fun. Both new this lull wouldn't last. Any time a phone call could come in and send Don back into the field with late nights and early mornings. Charlie would again have to juggle his time between classes and FBI work.

"Charlie"

Megan motioned for Charlie to join her in one of the interrogation rooms.

"Hey"

"Listen, I know you don't like dogs so maybe you should stay in here for the moment"

"Who told you that" Charlie knew his face was flushing even as he spoke.

"Well, just to warn you in case you don't like them"

"What's going on?"

"A little revenge"

"GET THAT DAMN THING OUT OF HERE .NOW!"

Charlie stood, instantly alerted by the tone in his brother's voice. Megan sedately walked from the room to Don, who was standing by the kitchen pointing toward the hallway. Charlie followed his brother's look and stopped in his tracks. Colby was standing by the door holding a leash attached to a large, white, fluffy poodle.

"I'M SERIOUS, GET THAT THING OUT OF HERE"

"What's wrong Don?"

"Don't 'what's wrong Don' me Megan, get it out of here, it hates me"

"Seems quite calm and peaceful to me" Colby patted the Dog's head. It was sitting by his leg panting happily while surveying the area. To Don it seemed to be searching for him. The dog looked his way and stopped panting. It stood and advanced. Held back only by the leash.

Don moved further into the kitchen.

"Seriously, get it out of here, that thing hates me and has a taste for blood"

Charlie was amused by the whole situation. Actually seeing the dog that had attacked his brother made his whole dream evaporate. It really was a huge cotton ball.

Charlie moved to stand next to Megan, between Don and the dog.

"I thought it would have been put down?"

"No Charlie, it was only defending its owner and Don never pressed charges."

Charlie looked questioningly at his brother, who was attempting to appear calm in the entrance to the kitchen.

"You never pressed charges?"

"Didn't seem fair, I figured the dog suffered enough what with having to be a poodle"

Colby walked further into the room. The dog had resumed its panting and was happily walking by his side. Don moved out of the kitchen and offered the animal a piece of leftover sausage. The dog gratefully took the meat and nuzzled Don's leg for more.

"You're not scared?"

"I gave it the sausage so it wouldn't want my hand"

Charlie smiled at his brother. He could see Don didn't want to show any weakness to the other agents in his command. His shock at seeing the dog seemed to have worn off. Although Don wasn't making any move out of the kitchen again. He'd taken up his position just inside the door and didn't seem willing to pet the dog. Charlie looked at the poodle. It didn't seem so bad. He'd managed to pet Mr Paterson's dog a few days ago, although that dog was a little Jack Russell. Time for Charles Edward Eppes to step up to the plate. Charlie stepped forward and held his hand out to the poodle who sniffed his fingers with intrigue. Charlie smiled over at Don, who beamed back at his brother with pride in his eyes, although made no step to join his brother by the poodle.

Charlie was about to pet the dog on its head when he felt a brush of fur and teeth attaching themselves to his right hand. He began to pull away. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. One minute his was holding his hand under the dog's nose. The next it had growled and lowered it's head, only to bring it's muzzle up to Charlie's hand, opening it's mouth and clamping down.

Charlie started to pull his hand away, aware that his skin had been broken. He felt Don's arms around him, Don had moved with lightening speed from his place in the kitchen and with one arm around each side of his brother he pried to dogs jaws open while Colby pulled it back by the leash. David clamped his own hands around the dogs muzzle and with the help of another agent wound the leash around the dog's nose.

Don turned Charlie around and led him into the kitchen. His brother was breathing heavily and looking extremely pale. He sat him down and took his hand; there were three puncture wounds and a very red patch that no doubt would turn into a lovely bruise by tomorrow.

"You ok?" Don searched his brother's eyes.

"It bit me!"

"Yeah"

"It bit me, why?"

"I don't know buddy, doesn't look too bad though but we should get you checked out at the emergency room"

"I was being nice to it"

"Is Charlie ok?" Megan came into the room looking very embarrassed and guilt ridden.

"He's ok, see, told you that Dog was evil"

"I'm so sorry Charlie"

"It's ok; you didn't make it bite me"

Megan looked at the paleness of Charlie; she turned her eyes to Don, seeking his forgiveness.

"Guess you couldn't find a plastic life-size poodle then?" he quizzed her.

"No" Megan smiled, "But I thought I could get revenge on you, not Charlie. Oh Charlie I'm so sorry"

"It's ok, honestly" Charlie's skin was covered with sweat; it was obvious that this situation was anything but ok.

"Wait" said Don "You wanted it to bite me?"

"No not bite you, just scare you a bit is all, give you a taste of your own medicine"

"I think that dog has had enough taste to last it a life time. That's funny though"

Both Charlie and Megan regarded Don with incredulous looks.

"What's funny?" demanded Charlie.

Don wound a towel around his little brother's hand and moved him toward the door.

"Megan was after me but got you instead, I was after Megan but got Colby instead. It's a little funny is all"

"We'll see how funny you find it when I tell Dad"

Megan laughed back at Don's warm smile. He winked at her and shook his head. Indicating it was all alright. No harm done, well, not to him anyways.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"So let me get this right" Alan handed each of his son's a cup of coffee and went back to the kitchen to retrieve his own. "You've been spending the past week attempting to find Megan's phobia, this instead of catching criminals and teaching students." Alan sat down on a chair and faced his son's, who were both on the couch attempting to look sheepish. "She then decides to get you back by bringing the dog, that attacked you Don, into the office, instead it decides to attack Charlie" Alan looked at his son's awaiting a response. None was forth coming so he continued.

"Have I missed anything?"

"No"

"No Dad"

"One phone call from David to be told a son is in the ER is enough thank you very much. But to call and be told another son is being seen to is something else. You are both grown adults. "

"It was Megan's fault Dad"

"No Donnie it was not, you are the supervisor there. The supervisor and the older brother and yet you spend the week distracting Charlie and playing pranks on your colleague's."

"It wasn't all Don's fault Dad" Charlie would have said more but the look Alan faced him with silenced any further thought.

"This is not how we act, not adults. And for it to result in another of my son's being attacked by the same dog is difficult for me to comprehend. "

"Maybe the dog has a taste for the Eppes"

Alan glared at Don but he continued regardless, also ignoring Charlie's warning look.

"Seriously, we obviously have good blood because it didn't attack David, Colby or Megan. It went right for Charlie. Has to say something about the stock we come from."

Alan willed his mouth to not turn up at the sides as his eldest continued.

"Come on Charlie, what are the odds of both of us being attacked by the same dog in a week?"

Charlie looked from his brother to his father, unsure as to whether he should really join in or not. He decided not. Seeing as he had to live here.

Don continued "Bet you could write a paper on that bro, seriously. Two brothers, both attacked by the same poodle in unrelated circumstances in a week's time frame. There could be lectures, tours. We could take that poodle on the road with us"

Alan had enough and threw his paper at Don, hitting him on the head.

"Come on Dad" laughed Don "You have to admit this is so ridiculous it's hilarious"

"I have to do no such thing Don" Alan could barely keep the grin from his face as he looked at his two son's. Side by side on the couch. Each had their right hand bandaged.

"So Charlie, what do you think of Dog's now then huh?"

"I'm still going to try to pet Mr Paterson's dog each time I see him."

Don beamed at his brother. He really was something.

"I figure start small and work my way up, skipping past poodles though"

Charlie was enjoying being spoilt my Megan and Colby. Each time he came to the office they'd insist on getting him lunch, coffee, anything he wanted. He had milked this attention for almost two weeks now but could tell his demands were wearing thin.

"Colby"

"What is it Charlie?"

"Can you get me a coke?"

Colby looked at Charlie tiredly. He was seriously taking the proverbial now.

"The kitchen is there Charlie, get it yourself"

"But my hand hurts"

Colby looked up and instantly felt his guilt return. How had he been talked into bringing that dog in to the office? It had seemed like such a good idea at the time.

He reluctantly got up and went to the kitchen. Ignoring the smile plastered all over Charlie's face.

Don strode into the office with Megan in tow.

"Listen up everybody; we've got a prison escapee on the loose, last seen in the LA area. The Seattle office has been after him for a few months now and we have a positive ID on his whereabouts. I'm going to need two teams in the field and everyone else liaising with the Seattle office and ATF who want this guy for trafficking. Seems he's been busy since he escaped. "

Charlie always watched with wonder whenever Don addressed his team. He was always so impressive with his command of everyone .Instantly having their attention. The respect these people had for his brother always swelled Charlie's heart with pride.

"He's currently hiding out amongst a travelling circus. Seems one of the clowns owes him a favour so has been helping him stay undercover"

"Clown?" asked Megan, her voice blanketed with concern.

"Yeah, that a problem?" Don looked at Megan. Her face seemed to have paled, Charlie noticed it too. He stood up and walked closer. Megan was shaking. Definitely shaking, yet it wasn't cold in here.

Don looked from Megan, to Charlie, from Colby to David. They all had smiles slowly spreading across their faces. He turned back to Megan and couldn't stop his smile from spreading further.

"Please don't tell me that's it?"

Megan looked at them all and felt her face flush. She was shivering despite herself and could feel a thin layer of sweat break out on her forehead.

"None of you have seen the movie IT?"

"Sure" Charlie said slowly.

"The Clown?"

"Uh huh" added Don

Megan knew she was caught. She grabbed her coat and flounced out of the room, the whole time trying to explain her fear.

"How any one can watch that movie and not have a problem with clowns I'll never know"

She tried to ignore the laughter that followed her out of the door.

The End.


End file.
